Melodic & Harmonic Concepts

Interval Reinforcers

• Stevie Wonder - "Isn't She Lovely" (Ascending Minor Second)

• Young the Giant - “Simplify” (Ascending Minor Second)

• Rebecca Black - “Friday” (Descending Major Second)

• Violent Femmes - "Blister in the Sun" (Ascending Major Third)

• Adele - “Rolling in the Deep” (Ascending Perfect Fourth)

• The Smashing Pumpkins - “Today” (Descending Perfect Fourth)

• Lorde - "Team" (Ascending Perfect Fifth)

• Taylor Swift - "I Knew You Were Trouble" (Perfect Fifth)

• Usher w/ Lil' Jon & Ludacris - "Yeah!" (Perfect Fifth)

• Black Sabbath - "Black Sabbath" (Tritone)

• Jimi Hendrix Experience - "Purple Haze" (Tritone)

• Rush - "YYZ" (Tritone)

• fun. featuring Janelle Monae - "We Are Young" (Ascending Minor Sixth)

• Sinead O'Connor - "Nothing Compares 2 U" (Ascending Minor Sixth)

• The Beatles - "In My Life" (Ascending Minor/Major Sixth)

• Carly Rae Jepsen - "Call Me Maybe" (Ascending Major Sixth)

• Robbie Williams - "Angels" (Ascending Major Sixth)

• Michael Jackson - "Man in the Mirror" (Descending Major Sixth)

• A-ha - "Take on Me" (Ascending Major Seventh)

• Norah Jones - "Don't Know Why" (Ascending Major Seventh)

• ABBA - "The Winner Takes It All"

• The Beatles - "Hey Jude"

• Deep Purple - "Smoke on the Water"

• Metallica - "One"

• Nada Surf - "Popular"

• The Rolling Stones - "Lady Jane"

Modulations

Obviously, there are many different types of modulations, although the "Gear Shift" is one of the more common types heard in popular music.  Here, they will be divided into three categories.

General Key Change Examples

• Aretha Franklin - “Freeway of Love”

• Backstreet Boys - "I Want It That Way"

• Beyonce - "Love on Top"

• Bon Jovi - "Livin' on a Prayer"

• Boyz II Men - “On Bended Knee”

• Bonnie Tyler - "Total Eclipse of the Heart"

• The Breeders - "Cannonball"

• Buzzcocks - "I Don't Mind"

• The Carpenters - "(They Long to Be) Close to You"

• Cheap Trick - "Surrender"

• The Commodores - "Easy"

• Dexy’s Midnight Runners - “Come on Eileen”

• Feist - "Tout Doucement"

• The Guess Who - "These Eyes"

• Hall & Oates - "She's Gone"

• Johnny Cash - "I Walk the Line"

• Kirsty MacColl - "A New England"

• Michael Jackson - "Man in the Mirror"

• Oasis - "All Around the World"

• Queen - "We Are the Champions"

• Sisqo - "Thong Song" (no really, you might not want to teach this)

• Starship - "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us"

• Stevie Wonder - "Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away"

• Todd Rundgren - "Hello, It's Me"

• XTC - "Senses Working Overtime"

• The Zombies - "This Will Be Our Year"

Minor/Major Transitions

• Ace of Base - "The Sign"

• Beyoncé - "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"

• Carole King - "You've Got a Friend"

• Fastball - "The Way"

• Justin Timberlake - "Mirrors"

• Tom Petty - "Into the Great Wide Open"

• The Turtles - "Happy Together"

Flattened Submediant Modulation

• The Beach Boys - "Wouldn't It Be Nice"

• Beyoncé - "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"

• Billy Joel - "Uptown Girl"

• Buddy Holly - "Peggy Sue"

• The Decemberists - "16 Military Wives"

• The Platters - "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"

• Whitney Houston - “I Have Nothing”

Modes

Much of Western music, and a large majority of popular music, is heard in basic Ionian mode (do re me fa sol la ti do), but there are six other modes based on the same scale degrees.  Here are a few examples that show up in popular music.

Dorian Mode

• Bruno Mars & Mark Ronson - "Uptown Funk"

• Deep Purple - "Smoke on the Water"

• Madonna - "Express Yourself"

• Michael Jackson - "Billie Jean"

• Pharell Williams - "Happy"

• Santana - "Black Magic Woman"

Phrygian Mode

• Jefferson Airplane - "White Rabbit"

• Metallica - "Wherever I May Roam"

Mixolydian Mode

• Coldplay - “Clocks”

• Lorde - "Royals"

• Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Sweet Home Alabama"

• Foo-Fighters - "Times Like These"

Aeolian Mode 

• Adele - “Rolling in the Deep”

• Alicia Keys - "Fallin'"

• George Michael - "Careless Whisper"

• Goyte ft. Kimbra - "Somebody That I Used to Know"

• Katy Perry - "Part of Me"

• Kendrick Lamar & The Weeknd - “Pray for Me”

• LMFAO - "Party Rock Anthem"

• Usher ft. Lil' Jon & Ludacris - "Yeah!"

Cadences

Popular music features a number of typical cadences, but sometimes, a less standard cadence appears in a pop song.

Deceptive cadence

• Backstreet Boys - "I Want It That Way"

• Outkast - "Hey Ya!"

PIcardy Third

• Bob Dylan - "Ain't Talkin'"

• Guns & Roses - "Sweet Child of Mine"

• Lionel Richie - "Hello"

• Mates of State - "Nature & the Wreck"

• No Doubt - "Don't Speak"

• Roberta Flack - "Killing Me Softly"

• Seal - "Kiss from a Rose"

• Yes - "Roundabout"

Aeolian Cadence

• The Beatles - "Not a Second Time"

• Sonic Youth - "The Diamond Sea"

Have a suggestion for a song to include here that aurally demonstrates this particular concept?  Write me on the Contact page!!